Thursday, November 20, 2008

1. the state of being deprived of or of being without something that one has had: the loss of old friends.

2. death, or the fact of being dead: to mourn the loss of a grandparent.

3. the accidental or inadvertent losing of something dropped, misplaced, stolen, etc.: to discover the loss of a document.

Last week was the discovery of loss. I watched as some families discovered loss. These 2 words seem like they shouldn't go together. When I want to discover something I want it to be a good thing. Who wants to discover loss. Not to make it trivial but I used to have dreams of finding stuff. The loss of something affected me so much that I would dream about how to find it. I even would have dreams of the specific place in my house that I would find it. I hated losing things.

As an adult that has not changed. It is frustrating to lose things in my life. It is even worse when it is a person who we love and care about. Watching some of the kids in the past week has reminded of the loss of my dad and grandpas. There is such a pain with knowing you will not see them in this life again. I truly felt for those this week as I watched as they continue to work through the loss. It is a tough process but as a Christian it is at least easier. We are able to know that we will see that person again in Heaven. We can take the joy of the hope we have in Jesus. It never makes the loss easy. There are times we dream about our loss and it is in our sub conscience even when we are focused on other things.

The truth it is not just death or losing physical things but also even just friendships. Loss affects our life all the time. At one minute we have someone in our life and then they are gone. I am not sure I will ever have a good grasp on loss and the emotions and feelings that go with it. I do know one thing that one day I will never feel that loss again. I cannot imagine how God feels when he loses one of us since I can see on earth how loss affects us.

This blog has no answers except one turn to Jesus. We will always have Jesus in our lives and He will always be there for us. He understands loss and is there to comfort us in that loss. May He continue to guide each of our lives and be the one we turn to has we have empty feelings in our lives from the things or people we lose. My prayers go to those who recently lost loves ones I know you will find the hope you need in Jesus.

Are you ever some place and all of the sudden someone tells you something and you are not sure how to respond. Recently I heard this song called "Oh." It is basically about this guy who hears all these crazy things and is not sure what to say and so he says oh. There is a funny story in the song of this girl brushing her teeth on a Subway because she does not know when she will die and see God. There are a few more stories in the song that are more the too much information idea. It made me think of all those times when I am in that place. I hear something that I did not expect and am not sure what to say. I worry that my face is showing what I feel inside. You know this feeling of, "I can't believe you told me that and I don't know what to say." Regardless those times happen. This song made me think about those moments and to think about what I normally say.

In all honest we all have those moments and they go both ways. I think sometimes my biggest fear is being on the other side of the Oh. You know that you say something that the other person can't believe you told them. Regardless they exist because we are sinners. They exist because we do things we shouldn't. And as humans we do not always know what to say when a person shares something like that. This is where I feel comforted in the fact that I can tell God anything. He will never just say Oh. God responds in love and concern for each of us. The challenge is that we can do that also. Often times we are told things not to respond Oh but to show that person that someone does care enough to listen even if it is a hard topic or an unusual thing.

In life we may laugh about those times unusual things happen. I know there have been times I have laughed about what a person did in this store or that one. You tell this story about this crazy thing you saw or heard someone did and you might say Oh as they tell you the story. But it is a whole other thing to be there for someone tell you something they might have done at some point and truly need someone to talk to. I first found this song provoked my thought process and then challenged me to make sure I am truly listening and encouraging and not just saying OH.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

It has been a few days but I meant to write a post about the election. No matter who you voted for and or wanted to vote for this year there was an overwhelming reaction to the election. The lines were longer than normal and people were coming out from all over. I am not sure whether MTV's old slogan of rocking the vote finally caught on or something else but people came out. I think there is one thing that held strong and that was that people wanted change. While my first time in California to see an election I am sure it has not always been like this. It seemed like there were people on every street corner promoting their position on the props or the president. Regardless I think it was obvious to me that people are not happy with the way things are and want something different.

This is made even more obvious when I look at a sign that was on a cork board by the mail boxes in my apartment complex. It is one of those post cards that says, "What will you do with all the extra money you save on car insurance." Underneath it someone wrote, "Give it to Arnold Schwarzenegger he knows what to do with it." I of course had a little laugh at how people can think of the funniest stuff. Comments let me see even more how unhappy people are with our government right now. They want change and things to be different. The truth is they are looking to an earthly leader.

A few weeks ago I preaching about the King of Glory. I talked about how the people at the time of Samuel begged for a king. Samuel tried to tell them to trust God as their king but the people were persistent. God gave them a king but warned them it would not be truly what they expected. They had all kinds of problems with Saul and saw how corrupt he was. There was no choice but to turn back to God. In asking for an earthly king they had forgotten how God brought them out of Egypt and how God has always been there for them. It is when our world is desperate we realize that we need God so badly. There is no doubt we need him right now. No matter who is President they will still sin and make mistakes. We will never have that savior in a man because we already had him and it was Jesus. He is the only Savior that could truly run and does run our world without a mistake. While we wait to see what will happen with the economy or our new president my prayer is that we turn to Jesus. We see His leadership and are reminded of all the things He does for us. I am so thankful today that I am not dependent on earthly leaders. Today I am thankful that Jesus is my king and my leader.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

I debated which post to put first and I felt that you always read the top one first, so since I was going to post 2 things today I wanted the funny one second.

There are things in life that boggle my mind one is black olives. I love black olives. Often times I could sit there and eat a whole bowl of them. As kids we used to to even put easy cheeze in them. But they taste different mixed with different things. This might just be a Will Hanke thing. Since my best friend while in town lately did say I wish I could taste things like Will does. His point is my taste buds seem to be sensitive. While I have grown to love and try many things I am picky about certain things and how they mix. You will never catch me eating and candy bar and drink a soda (I still think pop in my head but say that for the rest of you). I hate how it tastes when you mix them. You lose the taste of how awesome the candy bar and the soda are. You need the salty to compliment the sweet. Another amazing one is chocolate milk and a banana. Sure the staff makes fun of me but let me tell you that combination is amazing. What boggles my mind is how black olives taste different on subway sandwiches. They also taste different on salads. I am not sure if it is just the mix of other stuff but they do taste different. Every time I got to Subway I make the debate black olives today or not. I know it will completely alter my sandwich. I did it today and it made me think about all of this.

If you want more helpful hints on amazing combinations just let me know. I will be happy to tell you how parsley changes the taste of mushrooms and makes it amazing.

On to the next thing I hate when toilet's flood. I am serious a toilet could be completely clean and flood and I would feel like it is still nasty. Today my toilet flooded and I had just taken a shower and I thought great now I feel gross. I just don't get it why when the water is so low and then you flush again does it go to the top. It was an interesting start to my Thursday.

On those 2 random notes may I still remind you that as tough as this world is it is still a funny place to leave. While I often write deep thoughts and you got one as you read my first blog, I also want to remind you to enjoy the funny moments in life. God has created us all different and whether olives taste funny on a sandwich, you don't like meat, you hate licking napkins or you can't even stand looking at snakes life is funny. And even if you struggle with John Mayer's voice, which I can't understand, life is funny. We all are different. So while I had a deep post for my first one remember to enjoy life and take time to notice the little funny stuff that happens.

Last I just want you to know for High School kids we are starting something called the Underground. It is kind of the hidden hang out time. I talked to some of the high school guys who are going to meet me at Wing Stop in Costa Mesa on Newport Beach Rd for wings on Saturday. We are going to meet hang out and talk about life at 3pm this Saturday. This will happen a couple times a month. I will make sure it is in my blog and I will text as many of you as I can. High School can be so busy this is time to squeeze in some fellowship, hang out have wings and just enjoy the life God has given us.